


Let's Play Ball!

by AluraEmbrey



Category: Glee
Genre: Baseball, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-28
Updated: 2011-09-28
Packaged: 2017-11-06 16:05:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/420752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AluraEmbrey/pseuds/AluraEmbrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was one thing that Mercedes never thought she'd hear Mr. Schue say, it was “play ball!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Play Ball!

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Glee Summer Fun Exchange. This is a bit out of my Glee element, I tend to stick to Klaine-centric fics, so I hope I was able to do the entirety of New Directions justice. Even more so, I hope it was what you had in mind when prompting. Also, sorry for my limited baseball knowledge. Further, thanks to abjusticc for being an excellent beta for me yet again.

Watching movies in overly air-conditioned theatres.

Cruising all the sites on the internet that classwork got in the way of.

Window shopping at the mall for the latest crazes and acting as the Fashion Police.

Barbecuing with the family while watching fireworks.

Taking walks around the park with the boyfriend.

Those were the things that Mercedes planned for her summer vacation. They mean a good summer, a fun and rejuvenating summer. Things that her time off school shouldn't consist of included standing in the hot June sun, having her hair frizzing up at the humidity and holding a baseball bat. Those things meant a ruined summer, and Mercedes doesn't like ruined summers. But this one was shaping up to be pretty bad and it was all Mr. Schue's fault.

“Mr. Schuster. Coach Beiste. With all due respect,” Mercedes could easily hear the sarcasm oozing out of Kurt's words. She looked to her left so see that he was holding his baseball cap gingerly between his fingers, giving it a weary look. “I'm not entirely sure that this the team-building, good-will earning, method that you want to go with.”

“I hear what you're saying, Kurt and I know this is out of some of your depths, but just think of how much fun you'll have.” The sad thing, the girl thought as she listened, was that Schuster actually sounded like he meant what he was saying. It wasn't pre-scripted, teacher mumbo-jumbo. No, he honestly thought that once they started playing, everyone on New Directions would suddenly come to love baseball.

She rather sing another Journey song.

“Not only that, but with Coach Beiste's help, we'll become one lean, mean, Vocal Adrenaline beating machine.” The man continued, smiling at his partner in crime for this.

“That's right kids. I'll have you all whipped into shape by Friday's game.”

The collective groan from all the students could probably be heard in Chicago. News Flash: Being told you'll be 'whipped into shape' while on summer break, isn't what any kid wants to hear. What they want, is to sit on their butts and do nothing all summer. After a hard school year, full of all their typical drama, and a crushing defeat at Nationals, they deserved it.

Honestly, why had she even looked at her invitation on Facebook? Better question, why does Mr. Schuster have a Facebook? Wasn't he too old for the site to let him on?

The feel of a hand slipping into her free one startled Mercedes a bit. It took a moment before she recognised the calloused fingers as Sam's, her stomach swooping at the feel. Oh yeah, she has a boyfriend now. A boyfriend that holds her hand and makes her heart do a little dance in her chest. Even a few weeks later, it was still a very new and surprising realisation each time it happened. She looked up at him and smiled softly, getting one in return from those adorable guppy lips.

“Now, we're going to start out with stretches. If you don't stretch properly, you could end up seriously hurting yourself.” Beiste explained to them, an excited look on her face.

And the torture officially started.

\------

“Oh. My. God. I don't think muscles are supposed to feel this way. Kurt, are muscles supposed to hurt this much?” Mercedes asked as she dropped onto a bench next to her best friend during their allotted break. She brought her bottle of water to her lips to seek rehydration, but it was also very tempted to take the entire thing and dump it on her head. Usually that would be an unforgivable option, water plus black girl equal bad. But the sweat and humidity had already ruined her hours of straightening and styling, so who cared at this point?

“I don't think so. It's not natural.” Kurt said, trying in vain to get his hair back in place. It wasn't working.

A chuckle made her look up, squinting into the sun until the person provided some much needed shade. “It's not so bad guys, all we did were stretches. We do worse in football practice every day.”

“Well, Samuel.” Kurt said, his voice giving all the attitude it was capable of emitting. “Not all of us are athletes. Mercedes and I are meant for the more delicate and poised things in life.”

“Preach.” Mercedes said, a hand in the air as if she were praising in church.

Sam raised his hands in defence. “Alright, alright.” He moved to sit down on the remaining part of the bench, next to Mercedes, but she held out a hand to stop him.

“Be my shade, please?” She watched him roll his eyes, clearly thinking she was being ridiculous, but he didn't move. That's what was important.

“Whipped already, Evans.” Puck said as he and Finn made their way over.

Mercedes gave the Jewish boy one of her Bitch Faces, wondering again why she had ever been stupid enough to date him. No matter how short and meaningless the time had been. “As if you aren't. Want me to get Lauren?”

Puck glared at her in response, but didn't deny it either. Clearly he knows the truth. Mercedes grinned at Kurt, who stuck his hand out for finger wiggle of mutual dominance. Their boys knew their place, and there was nothing wrong with that. Actually, Mercedes was quite shocked that Kurt wasn't texting away on his phone to Blaine, since the two can't seem to go more then an hour without sharing dopey looks.

“How much longer till our break is over?” Finn asked from the other end of the bench. Mercedes reached into the bag in her lap and pulled out her phone.

“Five minutes. But let's just stay here till they drag us out onto the field.”

“Sound good.” Finn agreed, and Mercedes was suddenly struck with a liking for her friend's step-brother. The tall boy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was still a good guy. It was interesting, two years ago, if you had told her that she'd be chatting as friends with three football players, she'd have laughed her ass off. And that was a lot to laugh off.

“Come on, Finn. Already getting lazy? Bet you're gonna get fat over the summer.” Puck goaded.

Finn glared at him, kicking his leg out and only missing because the other boy moved just in time. “Shut it Puckerman. We all get a little flabby during the off season.”

Puck looked as if he might actually be offended by that statement and opened his mouth to respond. However, Mercedes was quite sure that whatever he was going to say, she didn't want to hear. “Enough boys.”

Surprisingly, or not surprisingly if you know her, they actually did shut up then. Of course that didn't stop them from good naturedly glaring at each other, which just caused the girl to roll her eyes again. Honestly, they were such children. Then again, it was summer, they all had the right to be a bit sillier than usual.

“Come on guys, break over.”

The group tensed up, all of them looking at each other for a moment. Their eyes locked in random pairs, before it was universally decided: ignore Schuster until he came over. That was the only way he was getting them back out there. All of the got suddenly very quiet, as if they thought that if they were quiet enough, no one would remember they were there. Of course, that clearly wasn't going to work, evidenced by how quickly the man jogged over to them.

“Guys...”

“Ahem.” Mercedes said, pretending to clear her throat.

“... And Mercedes. Break is over, everyone else is already on the field.” Schue nodded behind him and Mercedes followed the gesture. Indeed, it did look like everyone else was assembled at the pitcher's mound. Well damn.

The girl looked around her and saw that none of the boys were particularly happy about this either. Actually, the look Kurt was giving could freeze water. Yet and still they were all, Mercedes included, moving away from the bench and towards the rest of New Directions. It was only massive amounts of love for William Schuster, and all he has done for them in the past couple of years, that could get them do do this. He should be really thankful they like him.

“There you guys are.” Beiste said, clapping her hands together in a way that Mercedes could only think of as menacing. “Now that we're all stretched out and rested, it's time to start some real work. Since this is day one, we won't be doing anything with positions. Instead, we're going to do some laps. Ten around the field.”

While the football players and former cheerleaders didn't look too terribly scandalised by this, Kurt definitely did and Mercedes was sure she shared his expression. Laps? That meant running. Oh hell to the no. As everyone, except Artie, moved to the edge of the field and started to run, she locked eyes with Kurt and they nodded simultaneously.

“So, how's your dad? I know you said he was getting really busy at work with his partner's back hurt.” Kurt asked conversationally as the pair started to walk around the field. This was as close as their teachers were going to get to them doing laps. There would be no running.

“He's fine.” The girl answered, adjusting the stupid hat on her head to try and block more sun. It wasn't doing a great job of keep her eyes safe, but it was doing a better job than nothing, which is the only reason she was still wearing it. “Mr. Hughes is feeling better now, so he's taking more clients.”

“That's good.”

“Kurt, Mercedes, you're not running.” Coach Beiste pointed out to them as she jogged up to them. She was giving them one of those reproachful, disappointed looks that all educators mastered at some point in another.

“We know.” They answered at the same time, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

The woman shook her head at them, but the small smile on her face gave away that she wasn't too upset. “At least power walk or something.” She told them, before jogging away.

“I rather be power shopping.” Kurt muttered when she was out of ear shot. Mercedes laughed at her friend, but couldn't help but agree. While she might not love shopping as much as Kurt, it did sound like a much more enjoyable alternative. Not to mention, how does one even power walk? What makes it powerful?

That was one of those sports related things that she was never really going to understand. So she just let that go and instead continued to happily chat with her best friend. Sure, this wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her summer, but at least she did have Kurt with her right now. It felt like, between Dalton, boys and all the usual New Directions drama, she never really got any alone time with her him anymore. Heck, it felt like she didn't really spend time anyone these days, except for Rachel. Everyone was off doing their own thee outside of Glee, even the people she had been closest to last year.

Which is why it was so nice to just be able to talk to someone again; it kind of made this walking around a baseball field seem worth it.

\------

“Ok everyone, you did really well today!” Mr. Schuster smiled at all of them as they assembled yet again. The laps were finally over, everyone was covered in dust kicked up from the field, glued to them by a thin layer of sweat that was starting to make Mercedes itch uncomfortably. If she didn't get a shower very soon whoever was nearest to her wasn't going to be very happy.

“Remember, we only have a few more days still our match with Vocal Adrenaline. So I'll you guys at the same time tomorrow. ”

Finally, a dismissal! If Mercedes didn't feel as if the heat around her was pushing her down into the grass beneath her feet, she'd cheer. But if you time on the Cheerios taught her anything, it was that cheering required more energy than she had left in her body. The only thing really on her mind right how was going home, burning these nasty clothes and running a very hot bath with lots of bubbles. She didn't even bother to check and see if Sam wanted to hang out now, instead the girl just walked as quickly as her body could take her to her car.

“Mercedes!”

“Damn it.” She sword under her breath. She was only about twenty feet from escaping this too. Turning around, she saw that the person that had called her name was the very last person she had expected to do so. Quinn Fabray was jogging to her (How did she still have the energy to do that? Quinn had actually run the full ten laps.), blonde ponytail swishing behind her.

Once they were standing in front of each other, the girls just looked at each other for a moment. A year ago this wouldn't have felt awkward. A year ago they had been housemates, friends, sharing a burden and creating a perhaps unlikely bond. Apparently not a very lengthy bond though, because if Mercedes had hardly seen Kurt in this past year, then Quinn had become a basically a ghost in her life. The dark skin girl just hadn't been needed anymore, apparently, and she did her best not to let that hurt. Besides, it wasn't as if Quinn had gone back to being bitch to her, she just wasn't the same girl that had reached for her hand as if it were a lifeline, when being rushed into the delivery room.

“Do you...” Quinn stopped for a moment, uncharacteristically stumbling over her words. She looked behind her to see that everyone else was slowly catching up to them, the general den of their chatter almost becoming distinguishable. “Do you want to come over to my place? Soaking in the hot tub might your muscles from getting too sore.”

Another moment passed, where the bitch inside Mercedes, the part that still took alternate routes to avoid jocks in the hallways, was screaming that this clearly had to be some sort of set up. The rest of her knew that wasn't right though. Quinn, no matter how she acted, honestly wasn't that heartless. After living with her for a few months, Mercedes was sure she had gotten to know the blonde girl, no matter what.

“Sure.”

Quinn nodded and smiled, her face lighting up more than you'd think a simple yes answer would cause. Mercedes couldn't help but smile back, Quinn was just one of those sorts of people that when they smiled, not smirked or grinned, but really smiled, you reciprocated. Something in her made her true joy palpable to everyone around her and made them want to join in.

“I'll see you there then.”

Mercedes nodded and crossed the small distance to her car. She unlocked the door with the key swab and entered, thinking that she'd have to clean out the inside later after getting all this dirt in here. While she started it up, she checked her mirrors to make sure the way was clear and saw that Quinn was just getting into her own car. The smile was still in place.

The drive to the Fabray house wasn't a long one. Lima was only so large anyway, and the park they were using was on the nicer side of town. Also known as the side that the Fabrays lived in. Not that Mercedes family was hurting for money or anything, but the Fabrays were still of a step higher. Even after the divorce and all that. Still, Mercedes had only been here once before, when helping to move Quinn's stuff back in after she'd been released from the hospital last year. At that time she had expected to maybe be invited back over for visits and that was finally happening. A year later.

Thankfully, less than a minute after she parked in front of the home, Quinn pulled up and into the driveway. They met each other at the door and shared another awkward moment, before the blonde let them both into the house. Lucky them though, the awkwardness didn't quite leave then. It followed as they crossed the large, quiet home and headed towards the basement area. Mercedes had been in here only briefly when she helped move the girl back in, just long enough to put some no longer needed maternity clothes in storage.

The stairway down to the basement was narrow, and Mercedes had to clutch the large purse on her should, to her chest instead. At least the blonde girl had turned on the light to help guide the way and the stairs were carpeted, so if she fell on her ass she'd have a soft landing. But Mercedes didn't fall, instead she reached the bottom, where she saw what basically amounted to an entertainment centre. There was a big screen television with a massive surround sound system, a wall basically covered in DVDs and comfortable looking lay-z-boys. That was just half of the room though. The other half consisted of a built in tub that looked large enough for even Finn to lay in and stretch out.

“You can get changed in there.” Quinn said, pointing towards a door in the corner. Must be a bathroom. “Oh wait, I don't have...” The girl looked suddenly embarrassed, her cheeks heating up.

“It's ok.” Mercedes indicated the bag on her shoulder, which Kurt had so nicely named Ms. Poppins, she got what the girl meant. There was no way that Quinn, a size one, had a bathing suite that would fit Mercedes's larger frame. But after last summer, the first time she had had true friends to hang out with, showed her that life without school was even more spontaneous. So she had become like a Boy Scout, in other words, she was always fully equipped for whatever this crazy group of kids could come up with.

The blonde smiled at her again and nodded, obviously feeling relieved. Apparently she hadn't thought this all the way through, which struck the diva as odd. Outside of obvious exceptions, Quinn always thought things through very well. She had plans on top of her plans, with backups just in case. This side of her though, was a bit more like the one Mercedes had lived with all those months ago. It made something in her heart clinch painfully, even as she let out a deep breath of relief. The linger awkwardness of the situation easing just a bit.

Without another word, they parted ways. Mercedes to the small bathroom and Quinn to get herself ready. Mercedes took a moment to look around at the marble counter top and bronze handles before shaking her head. It was silly for her to feel intimidated by a bathroom. Her dad was a dentist and her mother was a real estate agent, which meant that contrary to Sue Sylvester's assumptions, she wasn't using food stamps to get by. She has a car, used but running fine, and gets an excellent allowance. The Fabray house though, showed a different sort of image, one of refinement, while her own had a much more lived in feel. Still, Mercedes Jones was a fierce bitch, so she put the difference between the two houses out of her mind and got changed.

By the time she had her clothes folded neatly, hair pulled up in a bun to prevent any more damage and had re-entered the the main room, the tub was going and Quinn was placing two towels along the far edge. Her two piece was already on and her hair was pulled up similarly to Mercedes. Neither spoke as they climbed in and settled across the pool from each other, legs stretched out comfortably. The relief was instantaneous and so blissful that Mercedes couldn't help her eyes from closing happily.

Swirling, warm bubbles hit her tense muscles, working them slowly loose like they were being coaxed out of a scared corner they had run into. Her happy sigh was mirrored across the pool and Mercedes opened her eyes to sneak a peek at Quinn and saw that the girl wasn't basking in the glorious feeling of the warm water soothing her muscles. Instead, the girl was eyeing her, hazel eyes zeroed in on her face and Mercedes couldn't help but shift a bit awkwardly. The urge to go on the defensive and ask Quinn what the hell she wanted was strong, but she bit her tongue to keep it down and be friendly.

She was glad she did.

“I'm sorry.” Quinn finally said. Her eyes still bored into Mercedes, but the girl kept silent and waited to see what the blonde meant.

“I was kind of horrible to you this year.”

“No you weren't.” Mercedes assured. It wasn't like Quinn had started to throw slushies at her, or used her regained popularity to torture her.

“Actually, I was.” Quinn refuted with conviction, showing a bit of what Finn would call Scary!Quinn. “I may not have slushied you, but I did something worse: I ignored you.” The girl took a deep breath then, but didn't pause long. At least not long enough to let Mercedes's brain catch up enough to reply.

“When I was at my lowest, you were there for me. But as soon as I thought I could be on top again, I forgot that. I got caught up in prom and pretending like last year hadn't happened. Like nothing was different, even though it was.”

Mercedes was, well there was no other word for it, floored. She had never imagined that Quinn would apologize to her. That just didn't happen. Quinn was the blonde, thin, beautiful cheerleader, while Mercedes was the loser, yet strong, outcast. Sure, they were both in Glee, but that didn't mean that much in the world of high school. So long as people were still enamoured with Quinn's seemingly easy beauty, she'd always be on a higher social level.

“I'm trying to think straight now, be myself and not just what I always assumed I should be.” The girl's voice had gotten a bit quiet, like her words were a secret she was working hard to tell. “And I felt the most like myself when I was staying with you. So I hope you don't hate me too much”

This worried and unsure girl sitting in the tub across from her was not the one that had been so obsessed with becoming Prom Queen, Mercedes thought to herself. It wasn't the same girl that had put physical beauty before anything else, either. Instead, this was the Quinn that had reached for her hand when rushing into the delivery room and cried on her should after a hard day of school. This girl was her friend.

“I don't hate you. We all get a bit crazy over the school year. We wouldn't be New Directions if we didn't, right?”

The corner of Quinn's lips quirked up a bit at that. The statement had probably been a bit too true. “So we can be friends again?”

Mercedes shook her head, but smiled as she did so. “We're friends _still_.”

\------

The next day had Mercedes up at ten in the morning. That was the only good thing about this entire baseball thing, they didn't start until noon, which meant she could still sleep in a bit. At least compared to needing to be up at six in the morning for school. Of course, practice starting at noon meant that they were running and moving during the hottest period of the day, but oh well. Sleep was something that Mercedes liked more than just about anything.

Of course, sleeping in over the summer meant that when she woke up, her house was oddly quiet. Both her parents left early for work, which meant Mercedes was all on her own to get breakfast (Cap'n Crunch) and get ready for the day (No use straightening her hair, huh?). She was fine with that though, it meant a very relaxing morning before she had to get dressed in comfortable clothes and head out to be tortured a bit more by Schue and Beiste.

By the time she showed up on the field, most of the team was there already. The only missing people were Kurt, whom she knew had opened the garage for his dad this morning, and Finn, who had probably tagged along. Sam was in the middle of some conversation with Puck, Mike and Artie that required quite a lot of gesticulation, so she figured she wouldn't go and say hi just yet. Never know what those four could be up to. Brittany and Santana were whispering to each other on the bench, while Rachel was talking their teachers' ears off with Tina and Lauren watching, looking quite amused.

The only person not with someone else was Quinn. She was leaning against the dugout, staring off into space. Yesterday at this time, Mercedes would have left her be. Today though, she didn't hesitate to go over and say hello. Alright, she might have hesitated just a little, but not too much.

“Hey.”

Quinn's eyes quickly focused, looking surprised for a moment, before her face morphed into a delighted on. “Hey. Still sore?”

Mercedes shrugged, wincing only a bit as she did so. “Just a little. Thanks for yesterday.” She wasn't sure if she was just thanking Quinn for the time in the hot tub, or if she was thanking her for clearing the air, but still, it made the other girl smile.

“Looks like everyone is here, gather 'round!”

The two girls looked towards the pitcher's field to see that Schuster and Beiste were gesturing for them all to come over. Looking none too please, the group did so. The frown on Kurt's face was especially large, but she thought that might have more to do with the sheepish look on Finn's face, than with being here today. Of course, the sun standing directly overhead them all certainly wasn't helping, she was sure.

“Today, we're going to start with stretches again. After break though, we'll start trying the different positions.” The Coach said, pacing before them seriously. Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly game? “We have three days to get you all familiar with them, and figure out who'll be playing what. So no dilly-dallying. Let's get to work.”

If Mercedes thought that she was in pain yesterday after stretching, she didn't know what pain really was then. Because as she rises out of their last pose, dying of thirst from of heat, she's pretty sure that she never wants to move again. Ever. It was like the residual pain from yesterday had tripled, then added together with the ache from today to cause all sorts of hell to her body. She was quite tempted to storm off the field and tell Mr. Schue to piss off, but once the glory of her dramatic exit wore off, she'd feel bad.

Stupid conscience.

Though the temptation go even stronger when the break they were given felt like it had barely started before Beiste was calling them all back onto the field. She and Kurt shared a look that clearly said that retail therapy was going to be needed after this, before joining the congregation.

“We're going to start with pitching. Couch Beiste is going to demonstrate just the basics for now. Then you'll each practice, while she catches.”

The group nodded, looking towards the woman as she started to explain. On her left hand, she wore a baseball mitt and in her right, she had a ball. Oh no, this was really happening. Before, Mercedes could tell herself that maybe she wasn't actually going to be expected to play a game of baseball, a sport she knew nothing about. But as she watched Beiste's movements and listened to her talk about set and windups, that hope shattered.

Well, damn!

Before she knew it, Beiste had them all going through the motions, moving through the various positions. Trying to make it feel 'natural'. Except the only thing it felt was stupid. Sure, some of the guys managed to pull off the look, especially her Sam, and Santana had a slightly scary look on her face, as if throwing high speed balls was very appealing to her. For her and the rest? They just looked dumb.

“Nice job everyone. Time to have everyone give it a shot. Maybe we'll find out pitcher right away.” Beiste looked excited at the prospect, sharing a happy look with Schuster.

The group all lined up next to the pitchers mound, Mr. Schue handing them all gloves, he even had one for himself. Meanwhile, Beiste moved towards the home plate to stand next to Artie. He had a glove as well, but Mercedes wasn't sure why. In fact, she didn't know what role the boy would take in this game, until she realised that Beiste was showing him how to hold the glove. Ah, he was going to be catcher, that made sense. Better than making him the water boy or something like that.

“Sam, you first.”

The blonde nodded and moved onto the middle of the mound. He held the baseball and mitt expertly, eyeing Coach Beiste as if she were the enemy. The entire Glee club and their director watched as the boy seemed to come to a decision, before going through the motions and throwing the ball into the waiting hands.

“Nice job, Evans. Solid arm. Next!”

Puck went after that, followed by Finn, Santana, Mike, and Brittany. They each got various comments and pieces of advice. _Make sure to aim, Puckerman. Its not just about strength. And you're just a cheerleader, Lopez? Nice try, Brittany. Mind getting the ball for me?_ Before Mercedes knew it, it was nearly her turn. Kurt was standing in front of her though, so he had to go up first.

When Schuester handed him the baseball, the counter-tenor eyed it as if it were diseased before finally taking it. He stood for a moment, simply staring at the woman across from the field, before sighing, as if he realised that he really didn't have a way out of this. His back got a bit straighter, then the windup and...

… Holy shit how did Coach Beiste get on the ground?

Everyone rushed over to the woman, trying to help her up, but she just brushed them up and told them to move. They did, until it was just Kurt standing in front of Beiste, he looked worried that he had upset or hurt her, but she just had an indescribable look on her face.

“Hummel,” she finally said, taking a step closer. Kurt's posture got rigid, and Mercedes could see the defensive lines on his face. “That was amazing! Where did you learn to throw like that?”

Everyone looked shocked, but no one more than Kurt. Had Mercedes missed something crucial about her best friend? Had he played little league or something and simply never told her?

“I've never played baseball before.”

Well that caused a near riot. Schuster and Beiste nearly had heart attacks, happily stating that they'd found their pitcher. Puck asked how Kurt kept in shape, and when he relayed that the most work he did was fixing cars at the shop, Puck immediately asked for a job. Finn was just looking at his step-brother like he had never truly seen him before. Meanwhile, Mercedes just stood back and laughed. Oh, this was funny. First football, now baseball? Two things Kurt doesn't even has the slightest interest in? That's hilarious.

And that wasn't the end of it.

The group got to go home shortly after that, but the next day they went over batting. All of the football guys did fairly well, but you know who did the best? Kurt. His hit went nearly out of the field and rolled into the rest of the park area. Oh, and on Thursday? When they went over proper catching technique? Guess who caught a full ten out of ten balls hit their way? Kurt Elizabeth Hummel.

“Dude!” Finn had said, looking at Kurt in wonder. “You're like, a baseball god!”

Kurt looked ready to punch Finn for that statement. In fact, overall he seemed positively depressed at how well he was doing, knowing that doing well meant he'd have to play more on Friday. Mercedes hadn't seen him this despondent since before Blaine and he got together. So, as the excellent friend she is, the black girl did something very supportive: she laughed her ass off. The irony was just too much to take, no matter how he glared at her and stomped his foot.

Finally though, it was Friday itself. Game day, and nearly the end of this horrible week long torture. The game wasn't set to start till two that afternoon, and the group didn't have to meet till one-thirty, but Mercedes still woke up at ten as she had been all week. As she waited for the hours to pass, she spent some much needed time catching up on tumblr memes. Her dashboard had exploded in the last day or so. It was filled to the brim with a mixture of gossip rags, fashion blogs and gifs.

With tumblr on her side, it wasn't difficult to waste a few hours and before she knew it, she was walking onto the field for the last time. What she walked into, was chaos. Mr. Schue was handing out red t-shirts with a little 'ND' over the breast. Mike was laughing and spinning Artie in circles, kicking dirt up, while Santana bitched that they were getting in her hair and screaming about Lima Heights Adjacent. Near the opposite dug out, Jesse St. James (What the hell was he even doing here?) was holding a baseball bat and talking to Vocal Adrenaline students, while, in the centre, the real drama was unfolding.

As Mercedes got closer to the strange tio made up of Beiste, Sunshine and Rachel, the familiar sound of Rachel nearly screaming hit her ears.

“I don't see why Sunshine is the one singing the anthem. I am clearly just as, if not more talented than she. In fact, I've sang the National Anthem at several sporting events before, since the age of six.”

“I'm sure you'd do an excellent job.” Beiste said, clearly out of her element. She was looking between the two short girls as of she thought the munchens were going to attack soon. “Mr. Schuster and I simply thought it'd be a nice gesture to offer...”

“Honestly, Rachel, you can have it. I don't mind.”

At that, Rachel looked even more upset and offended. If she were a cat, her hair would be standing on end comically. “While I'm glad you're recognising my superior vocal abilities, I don't want you to simply hand me the song. We should have a Diva Off, they're very efficient ways of solving problems such as these.”

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she watched the proceedings, but couldn't help but think that the girl did have a point. Diva Offs worked well for New Directions. They really made you feel as if you earned your time to shine.

“Or maybe,” the Coach said, her face showing her confusion over what exactly a Diva Off entailed. “You could sing it together?”

There was moment of silence, the two lead singers looking at each other before Rachel finally nodded. “While I feel as if I could easily handle the song on my own, I must admit that my Vocal Adrenaline counterpart is an excellent singer and we have proven before that she and I harmonise well together. So fine.”

“Sound good to me.” Sunshine said, shrugging a bit.

Beiste looked visibly relieved and it made Mercedes chuckle a bit. Lucky her, that just made the woman finally realise she was there. “Oh, Mercedes. Have you gotten your t-shirt yet?” The girl shook her head no, which caused Beiste too look a little too happy. “Let's go get you one then.”

The Coach sheparded her over to Mr. Schue, clearly relieved to be free of Rachel for a bit. Mercedes couldn't entirely blame her. It took awhile to get used to Rachel Berry and her dramatics.

Thankfully, after getting her shirt, things went fairly smoothly. The rest of New Directions showed up, on time even, and got ready without complaining too much. The National Anthem sounded beautiful with both Rachel and Sunshine singing it and there was only minimal yelling from her team over Jesse St. James declaring himself umpire for the event.

So all in all, the average amount of drama one expects for when two Glee clubs meet.

The most surprising part of all this though, was that there were actually people in the stands. Sam had brought his siblings, to get them out and about a bit, which really wasn't that shocking. What was unexpected though, was that it looked like the Hudmel parents had made it to watch the game. They were sitting alongside Blaine and a few of the guys from Dalton. And, oh Lord, they even had a sign. _ND FTW_ it read in large red letters. She looked over at Kurt to see if he had noticed the group, but he was too busy adjusting his t-shirt

“Hey, Kurt” The girl said, smirking. “Look at the stands.”

He followed her gaze, taking in the people before finding his congregation. Immediately Mercedes heard him groan and drop his face into his hands. Up in the stands, Blaine's friends, Wes and David, had turned the sign around. They happily high-fived each other, even as Blaine scolded them.

_Hummel does it best!_

Yeah, she'd be embarrassed too.

Before Kurt could try to do anything about the sign, the voice of everyone's favourite cheerleading coach broke the silent air. “Alright losers and maggots, it's time for the first, and hopefully only, baseball game between Schuster's crappy Glee club and the failure Goolsby's dancing machines. I'm Sue Sylvester and I'll be commentating this stupid game.”

The kids from Vocal Adrenaline looked shocked by what the woman was saying, but it didn't phase Mercedes and her friends on bit. After awhile of her abuse, you just got used to it. What's really shocking is when the woman is kind.

“Since this whole idea was the product of the New Directions director's untamed amounts of hair gel, that makes Vocal Adrenaline the away team, meaning they'll be batting first.”

“Ok everyone, it's time to start this thing.” Mr. Schue said to them all as they huddled in the dugout. He stood next to Coach Beiste, both of them looking nervous but still excited. “Let's go out there and do our best.”

Mercedes thought it was funny that he was saying 'we' when it wasn't as if he was going to be on the field playing. But as this was supposed to be a team-building sort of thing, it made some sense that he include himself. Not to mention, he didn't get on stage with them, during competitions at least, and that didn't make him any less a part of the group then.

“Oi!” Sue's voice yelled across the sky. “Are we going to play baseball or not?”

Mr. Schuster rolled his eyes, but waved everyone towards the field. The team jogged, or walked somewhat quickly, in some cases, out and the small crowd of spectators cheered. Mercedes and Kurt gave each other one last look before paring ways. Mercedes to cover second base, and Kurt to the pitcher's mound.

“It looks like they have Porcelain as their pitcher, interesting choice. The rest of the no names are covering positions that no one really cares about.” Sue announced, getting the game finally under way. “First up to bat is... what the hell kind of last name is this?”

Said girl faltered a bit as she got up to bat, Sue's words clearly effecting her. But she still looked determined to do her best, her bat raised and ready to swing. Mercedes watched as Kurt stood on the pitcher's mound and everything seemed to fall oddly still. The crowd was watching silently, New Directions was standing at their stations, the batter was looking around, clearly being unhinged by the anticipation. Even Mercedes could feel some anticipation seeping into her bones. Her right hand shook just a bit as she reached up to adjust her hat. She wondered what they were waiting for, how long they'd have to wait. Or maybe they weren't really waiting long at all, but it just felt that way to her, while only a few seconds had really gone by.

Mercedes blinked again, her feet shuffling a bit awkwardly then...

“Strike One!” Jesse's voice yelled.

Holy shit, that was fast.

She looked across the field to see that the girl was just as shocked as she, but Artie was whooping and cheering, even as he threw the ball back. No one in the crowd was cheering though, it seemed as if they were all in shock. Had Kurt Hummel just done that? Was it a fluke?

“Strike Two!”

“Strike Three! You're out!”

The crowd went wild. As the girl walked dejectedly towards her own dugout, everyone in New Directions cheered along with the watchers. Mercedes looked up at the stands to see Burt on his feet clapping, while Blaine was whistling and jumping around. She looked back at the field, this time locking eyes with her best friend. While she could still see the reluctance in his blue eyes, there was also a note of pride growing there. Boy may not enjoy sports, but he does enjoy being good at things.

The next batter up was a tall, thin boy. Mercedes first thought was that if a strong wind came up, he'd blow away right along with it. Which meant that he was no match for Kurt's lightening throws. The third batter though, was a broad shouldered and determined looking. Even from base she could see the determined and fierce look on the boys face. So when Kurt threw the first strike, Mercedes couldn't help but feel a little excited. Her boy was gonna strike this kid out too, three right in a row.

But when the second ball was thrown and she heard the loud crack of wood on leather, and saw the fist-sized ball rise high into the air, she couldn't help that her heart started beating faster in her chest. She couldn't leave her spot near second base, but Finn, Santana, and Puck were in the outfield. Her brown eyes tracked the progress of the ball, watching it rise over Sam's head as he stood at first, there was no way he could jump high enough to catch that. But Santana was rushing forward, clearly intent on catching it.

Which she did.

Too late. The kid was already safe at first, leading off a bit, but still more than safe there. Damn it all.

“And the blonde boy is safe on first. Finally, Vocal Adrenaline manages to stop failing long enough to get in play. Good thing I didn't bring my Cheerios here to support them today.” Coach Sylvester commentated from up on her box.

The part of the crowd that was clearly cheering on the Carmel High students went wild, finally having something to be happy about. Mercedes looked back at Kurt, watching as he caught the ball Santana threw at him, a scowl on his face. Clearly, he didn't like this any more than she did. In fact, he might like it less, if the determined gleam in his eye was any sort of indication.

The fourth batter stepped up to the plate, another girl this time, this one shorter, but no less determined looking than the boy before her. She managed to hit the first ball pitched to her, but her aim was totally off. She basically hit it directly into Sam's hand.

“That makes out number three, and William's bunch of losers is now going to be up to bat.”

As quickly as possible, the teams switched places. The opposition took up places on the field, while Mercedes and all her friends lined up in their dug out. The girl went immediately for Kurt, giving in a quick hug. “Boy, we are rocking this game!”

She could tell he was trying not to look too smug and happy, but he felt the same way. While neither of them wanted to play this game, and they weren't weren't happy about the heat, sun and dirt, it did feel good to be kickass at something. There was no denying that.

“Great job so far everyone!” Mr. Schue told them as their gathered round and got in their battering order. Coach Beiste handed them bottles of water, which Mercedes gratefully accepted. The feel of the cool liquid hitting her throat was amazing after being out in the sun for so long. She was also glad that she could sit and take a load off for awhile. She was seventh in line to bat, behind Sam, Santana, Brittany, Puck Mike, and Lauren respectively. Which meant that the odds of her batting this time around were pretty slim to none.

The other advantage to being able to sit for a moment, meant she could really focus in on the game and what was happening before her. So she got to watch Sam make it to first after one strike. Santana hit a foul ball at first, but the second pitch hit her shoulder. Which meant that after yelling and screaming obscenities, she got a walk. The blonde dancer struck out though, leaving only two bases loaded, and Puck up next. He made contact on his first pitch, knocking the ball far enough into the outfield to bring Sam home.

Mercedes jumped up and cheered with everyone else. The McKinley supporters were ecstatic, first run in the game and it's theirs? Hell to the _yeah_! Throwing her arms around her boyfriend, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek when he reached the dug out, the let everyone else shower him with praise.

“Congratulations, Guppy Lips makes it home, after the juvenile delinquent doesn't fail once in his life. Finally, New Directions manages to be first at something.”

Mike was up next though, and while his batting was solid, he had a habit of always hitting straight to the fielders, giving New Directions their second out of the game. That left it all up to Lauren, who growled at the pitchers on her way to the plate, her best game face on. It was abundantly clearly why she was a champion wrestler, the pitcher looked scared shitless. However, that didn't stop her from striking out, cursing like a sailor the entire time.

“Strike!”

“Well that was a pitiful attempt at athleticism.”

“Woo! Yeah! Go New Directions.”

“Strike Three!”

“Goolsby needs to check the batteries on his automatrons, apparently.”

“Hummel, Hummel, he's the man. If he can't throw it, no one can.”

“Foul!”

“And that last strike out takes this stupid game into the ninth inning with a score of ten to nine in favour of Caramel or Chocolate or whatever.”

That's how the rest of the match seemed to progress for Mercedes. A mess of shouted words, dripping sweating, aching muscles and a quickly beating heart. So much dust had been kicked up from all the running, that she was sure these clothes would never come clean. The sun had never felt more hot to her in her life and the amount of sweat she had on her body could fill a kiddy pool.

But they were kicking ass. The match had progressed pretty evenly, though Vocal Adrenaline had taken a lead two innings ago and just barely managed to maintain it. But if you asked her, that was because Kurt had been subbed out for Quinn to give his arm a break, but he had insisted on pitching this last inning. Giving Mr. Schuster and Coach Beiste his best Bitch Face to ensure it happened. As the two best friends took up their positions, they locked eyes, and silently said just one thing to each other: bitches goin' down!

Mercedes took up her post near second base, squinting against the sun to see who was up to bat. This girl looked scared, Mercedes could see her shaking from here. So it was no shock that Kurt struck her out in three quick pitches, earning more cheers from the Hudmels and Dalton boys. They groaned at the next person though, because this boy managed to see Kurt's fast ball coming and knocked the ball deep enough into the outfield that he managed to make it to first base.

As did the next person, a small but fast asian girl that slid into first right under Sam's arm, who caught the ball just seconds too late.

Mercedes swore under her breath, and the boy standing near her on second chuckled. “Don't get too cocky, yet.” She told him, levelling him with a glare that scared off grown men. He raised in arms in mock surrender, but she didn't pay him any attention after that.

She watched silently, tense, as Kurt struck out another guy, causing more cheering and even a bow from the boy pitching. She giggled at his antics, but couldn't help but feel the same joy. They could do this, they could actually do this! Just one more out and then they'd be up to bat and they could totally kick Vocal Adrenaline's ass!

“Another pathetic attempt at a player can't handle Porcelain's pitch, which means there are two outs now. You're coach should shoot himself for how poorly you're playing right now.”

Though Sue's words were kind, sort of, the next batter was unfortunately actually capable of playing the game. On the first pitch, he swung his bat hard, causing the ball to soar high into the air, straight down the middle of the diamond.

And straight at her face!

Instinct brought her hand up into the air to protect herself. A half second later and felt the heavy thunk of the ball hitting her gloved palm, and her muscles clench around it automatically. It took her a second, a horrible second, to realise that she had caught the ball. Which meant the batter was out. The third out and Mercedes Jones had caused it! The crowd cheered and she whooped as Sue announced the play. She followed the group back towards the dugout for that final phase of the game, but she didn't let go of the hall in her hand. This ball was hers.

“Ok everyone.” Mr. Schue said as they all huddled together in the dug out. The stench of sweat should have been overwhelming and disgusting, but it hardly phased Mercedes at all. Her body felt full of restless energy, like her cells were humming, even through the pain and heat. “We've played an excellent game so far. Really excellent. No matter what happens out there now, we've done a great job, just remember that.”

Everyone nodded, understanding that he was trying to tell them he was proud no matter what happened, but that's not how everyone else felt. She could feel it in the panted breaths around her, her glee friends wanted to win. Tying or just doing a good job wasn't enough. They needed to show Vocal Adrenaline that they weren't nearly as awesome as they think they are. Screw creating a bond of friendship between the two clubs, Mercedes wanted them to eat dust.

First up to bat this time was Lauren. Mercedes offered her an hand to high-five as she made her way onto the field, and watched as the girl stepped up to the plate, more determined than ever to kick some ass. Which she definitely did, because while her hit wasn't a powerhouse hit to the outfield, it was in their least covered area, giving her plenty of time to reach first and growl at the poor girl standing there.

Of course, that meant that Mercedes was up next. Sam gave her hand a supportive squeeze as she left the dugout. She gave the bat in her hand and experimental swing once she was there, before settling into the slightly hunched position Beiste had taught them a few days ago. She all together ignored Jesse St. James, and simply stared at the pitcher. The boy stared right back, seemingly contemplating how to best her, before he smirked and threw the ball.

“Strike one!”

“Strike two!”

Oh hell to the no. Mercedes's eyes glowered at the pitcher, hating the smirk that lined his pointed face. She was not going to strike out, there was no way. She kept her eyes trained on the ball as the pitcher moved through the motions, the windup seeming long but short at the same time. The baseball seeming to move through the air in cartoon-esque ripples until: _wham_

Without even checking to see how far the ball went, she dropped the bat like it was on fire, taking off sprinting as fast as she could towards the first base. The basewoman was standing there, mitt ready to catch a ball thrown at her, one foot already on the plate in preparation. Mercedes pushed her legs faster, widening her stride until she felt the pressure under her foot change. Instead of feeling just dirt, the base yielded to the pressure of her foot. She looked around to check and see what was happening and saw the girl next to her scowling and angry.

She was safe, hell yeah! A shout of happiness broke it's way out of her throat, even if it wasn't very good sportsmanship. The Carmel high girl glared at her, but Mercedes just shrugged that off.

“By some miracle, New Directions now has runners on two bases, and the frankenteen Hudson is up to bat. Let's see it he breaks anyone else's nose today.”

While she had just a few moments of rest, Mercedes took deep breaths in and out, trying to calm her heart down a bit. But there was no helping it at this point. The end was near and she could just taste it. She may not know baseball all that well, even after training, but she knew that they were in a good positions, with no outs and two bases occupied at the bottom of the ninth. You didn't need to be a sports genius to know that was good.

Finn stepped up to the plate and Mercedes said a quick prayer. The boys was either a really great batter, or a really horrible one. It was honestly hit or miss with him, no pun intended.

Of course, because she was so worried and they needed this so much, the first pitch was a strike. In fact, Finn lost control of the bat entirely, sending it flying into the foul zone. He had to jog to retrieve it amongst the crowd's laughter. If it were here, doing something like that would shake her confidence a bit, but that didn't seem to be the case with Finn. In fact, he actually looked relieved, like he had already screwed up, so he figured it couldn't get any worse.

And it didn't. The second pitch made a loud, solid contact, the noise vibrating through the air to her ears. She took off running, determined to make it to second and not be the weak link, when she realised that Lauren before her wasn't running. She had stopped between the two bases and was looking at the sky. Mercedes paused to look as well, catching sight of the ball again. It was still in the air, sailing over the heads of the backwards running outfielders. Going, going and finally landing far outside the baseball field, rolling a bit until it clanked against the jungle gym.

It took everyone a moment to process what was going on, before suddenly it dawned on Mercedes that Finn had just hit a home run. And because he had hit that homer, she and Lauren automatically went home as well.

“By some miracle Hudson doesn't take anyone's eye out, instead hitting a homer, making the score ten to twelve for New Directions. Guess it was finally about time they won something.”

They won! Holy shit they actually won! This misfit band of kids, none of whom even wanted to play this game, had managed to kick Vocal Adrenaline's ass!

Finn clapped her on the back, gesturing for her to finish the trip around the bases with him, which she did, taking only a light jog to get there because, hey, she could take her time now. They had won. Once she got to third, she realised that all of New Directions was already gathered at home plate. She couldn't help but speed up then, running into the waiting arms of her boyfriend before throwing one arm around Kurt. More arms were around her and she wished she had another so that she could hug Quinn too. For a moment everything was just a mess of crying and cheering and hugging, their spectators rushing down to celebrate with them and Mercedes couldn't help the overwhelmed but happy feeling that settled into her chest as she watched everyone look so blissfully happy.

Alright, maybe this summer hadn't started out so bad afterall.


End file.
